BREAKING: LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST THE U.S. FOR THE HIGH SEAS EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS IN VENEZUELA – I HAVE THE COMPLAINT
We knew it was coming, and here it is. In a 23-page Complaint (included for Notes from the Front members), family members have sued our country over the extrajudicial killings of their *non-narcotrafficker* loved ones. The caption itself (that’s the part that says who are the parties to the lawsuit) tells the heartbreaking stories:
LENORE BURNLEY, as mother of CHAD
JOSEPH, and on behalf of his beneficiaries, and
SALLYCAR KORASINGH, as sister of RISHI
SAMAROO, and on behalf of his beneficiaries,
Plaintiffs,
v.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Defendant
Reread that and let that sink in a minute. A mother is suing our country because our president ordered her son killed, with no due process, no warrant, no warning. By all accounts he was simply a fisherman who was fishing, when BAM. Same for Sallycar’s brother.
Same for the other four people on that boat, and countless others on the other boats that our rogue regime has blown to bits without *any* due process. (And don’t get me started on Minneapolis.) Actually they aren’t countless – the lawsuit includes the count: 125.
Says the complaint, “On October 14, 2025, the United States government authorized and launched a missile strike against a boat carrying six people traveling from Venezuela to Trinidad. The strike killed all six, including Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo, two Trinidadian nationals who had been fishing in waters off the Venezuelan coast and working on farms in Venezuela, and who were returning to their homes in Las Cuevas, in nearby Trinidad and Tobago.
The October 14 attack was part of an unprecedented and manifestly unlawful U.S. military campaign of lethal strikes against small boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean. Since this military campaign began on September 2, the United States has launched 36 armed attacks against boats in international waters, killing an estimated 125 people.”
Tellingly, the Complaint says that “Reports indicate that inside the Department of Defense, many officers have questioned the legality of the strikes, and that some have even sought private counsel out of concern for potential criminal liability.”
The lawsuit then goes on to explain two *U.S. Federal* laws that these strikes have violated: the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA).
The Plaintiffs also include images in the Complaint, including pictures of both Chad and Rishi, and I’m not gonna lie – they moved me to tears.
And in another example of what I’ve been telling you, that the things this administration says are lengths of rope which will be used to hang them, the Complaint includes this:
“In fact, the White House Chief of Staff admitted in an interview published on December 16, 2025, that the United States’ goal in targeting boats had nothing to do with drugs at all, but that the President planned to “keep blowing boats up” until President Nicolás Maduro, of Venezuela, resigned.”
And guess what, I’ve confirmed this. Susie Wiles said this to a Vanity Fair journalist, and it is actually quoted in *several* places on Vanity Fair’s website.
The Complaint goes into depth about the laws (so you Notes from the Front law buffs will appreciate this Complaint). I personally would never have imagined, before 2025, that I’d see a lawsuit citing the Death on the High Seas Act! But there is also a lot of heartbreaking narrative, so be warned.
The way I see it, the U.S. has two likely defenses that it can mount (not saying they are legitimate, I’m saying what I think they will say in response): The “because the president can and we don’t have to tell you our secret reasons because… national security” defense, and, specific to these Plaintiffs, the “you can’t prove they are dead because there are no bodies” defense.
Before signing off here I want to point out the relief for which they are asking:
“Pecuniary, compensatory, and punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial”
Some people don’t really understand that *unless there is a criminal case and someone is arrested*, “justice” usually means money awards. Oh sure, it can also mean the Court ordering the defendant to do or fix something (such as “stop selling baby powder with asbestos”), but generally “justice = money awards”. So in this case, “justice” will equal money.
Notes from the Front members: The 23-page Complaint is in your inbox now. I imagine that you, as did I, will find the Death on the High Seas bit quite interesting. Sad, but interesting.
NOTE: To preserve original source documents before they can be tampered with, and to protect myself from claims of improper republication, and hey, the trolls, I make documents I find (and at times purchase out of my own pocket) privately available to Notes from the Front members. Often these are non-public documents, others may be public but I find the source originals for you and include explanations and insights based on my decades of law practice and as a law professor, with a side of snark. ;~)
You can join below for immediate access to this and other documents, the archives, our private dropbox, and our private chat for $5 a month.
https://annepmitchell.substack.com/p/breaking-lawsuit-filed-against-the
Source